The Able Trust empowering students with disabilities with help from AdventHealth
Summary
AdventHealth is investing $350,000 in The Able Trust youth programs focused on providing students with disabilities with education and career discovery opportunities. For 30 years, High School High Tech has given students the opportunity to explore their interests and learn how they connect to career options, understand postsecondary education and training needs, and participate in college and university visits and industry tours.The gift from AdventHealth comes at a pivotal time, said The Able Trust President and CEO Allison Chase. In 2023 alone, AdventHealth contributed nearly $1.3 billion in community investments in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and South Lake counties, including support for local nonprofit organizations. This partnership with The Able Trust will help support education and career preparation for high school students with disabilities, providing them with a stronger path toward employment success that will lead to stronger Central Florida communities.Access to well-paying jobs and housing goes hand in hand with good health, and creating employment and job training opportunities for those with special needs is especially important, said Doug Hilliard, chief financial officer of AdventHealths Central Florida Division and a board member for The Able Trust. Providing compassionate, whole-person care extends far beyond the walls of our hospitals, and we are proud to unite with this incredible organization to tackle projects that will not only help our most vulnerable neighbors but help our entire community feel whole.The funds will help establish four new High School High Tech sites and nine new Futures in Focus sites by providing grants to community partners for program administration.The funding will also support community outreach, program materials, training, research and data analysis, and technical assistance to ensure program effectiveness.